A wheel bearing arrangement of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,231. The vehicle wheel is, as a rule, fastened to the radial flange of the hub by way of bolts. In this case, the radial flange is configured integrally with the hub.
The wheel bearing is as a rule a roller bearing having two or more rows of rolling bodies. Inner rings having the raceways for the rows are seated optionally on the hub. At least one raceway of two or more of the rows of rolling bodies is optionally incorporated directly into the material of the hub. The wheel bearing has one or more outer rings, on which the inner raceways for the rows are formed. The outer rings are either seated in the wheel support, or the outer ring is, as in the underlying prior art, the wheel support itself. The wheel support is provided with a flange, which has, for example, a plurality of fastening holes, for fastening the wheel support on the vehicle side. The outer ring is accordingly fixed in terms of rotation. The hub and therefore the vehicle wheel are mounted in the wheel bearing so as to rotate with respect to the wheel support.
The wheel bearing is, as a rule, sealed with two seals against environmental influences from the outside. One of the seals protects the wheel bearing as well as the encoder and at the same time has a sealing operative connection to the encoder. To this end, the seal has a sealing element in the form of a covering plate which is seated on the outer ring. One sealing lip on the covering plate bears sealingly against the encoder.
The sensor system is often arranged on the side of the radial flange, as the installation space on the vehicle side between the articulation bell and the wheel carrier is small for passing through the connecting lines of the sensor system and as the sensor system is exposed sometimes, to extreme contaminations at this location. The expenditure for sealing the wheel bearing and for simultaneously protecting the sensor system is therefore relatively high. The connecting lines are endangered by mud or ice accumulations on the side of the articulation bell.
However, in contrast, little installation space is available on the side of the vehicle wheel for the sensor system, for the components seal, encoder and sensor/sensors per se. In addition, the heads/threaded ends of the bolts which protrude axially out of the radial flange for fastening the wheel project in a disruptive manner into the installation space and also influence the signals of the sensor system by interfering signals.
The encoder is seated directly on the hub by means of a press fit and rotates with the latter relative to the sensor. In the arrangement according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,231, the sensor which belongs to the sensor system is held in a hole of the wheel carrier and protrudes through the hole into the interior of the wheel bearing. The seat of the sensor in the outer ring is to be manufactured and sealed separately and therefore causes additional costs. During the mounting of the sensor, and also during repair and maintenance, there is the risk that dirt particles pass into the interior of the roller bearing during insertion of the sensor. Those sealing lips of known sealing arrangements which lie on the outside of wheel bearing arrangements are, as a rule, directly exposed to environmental influences and fail prematurely. Dirt and moisture pass under the seal and penetrate into the roller bearing.